“Crack the Code 2.0” Aims to Double Oil Recovery in the Bakken

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stopped in Grand Forks to talk about technological innovation and the federal government's regulatory role.

\GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Energy Secretary Chris Wright spoke at the Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks alongside federal and local lawmakers, talking about one very clear goal – double the amount of oil production in the Bakken.

“We peaked at 1.5 million barrels a day. Now we’re down to 1.1 million barrels. And that’s going to keep going down – unless we figure out how to use enhanced oil recovery,” warned Senator John Hoeven.

Hoeven and others in the delegation are calling their mission “Crack the Code 2.0.”

They say the first time the code was cracked was in the early 2000s, when North Dakota became one of the first states to figure out how to access oil reserves in shale formations.

“You might have invented hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in Texas, but we did perfect it here,” said Governor Kelly Armstrong.

One of the companies leading that development was Liberty Energy – whose former CEO now serves as the US Secretary of Energy.

Chris Wright spoke of his enthusiasm for the energy sector in North Dakota and his belief that doubling the oil recovery rate in the Bakken is possible.

He’s the second cabinet member in as many weeks to visit the state following HUD Secretary Scott Turner’s stop in Fargo, and Wright said North Dakota possesses a high degree of innovation.

“I think North Dakota – often overlooked, it’s a key pioneering state in engineering, in innovation, and in spirit and individualism. Really, the American ideal is embodied in North Dakota,” said Wright.

Time will tell if the code can be cracked once more, and if the goal of 10 billion barrels of oil in a year is attainable, but the enthusiasm of the officials presenting the proposal was undeniable.

“We know that we need something new to inject to bring up our production levels. This is it. This is the answer,” said Rep. Julie Fedorchak.